Provide us your evidence against Babachir Lawal, Osinbajo’s committee tells Senate

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The three-man presidential committee tasked to investigate allegations of contract frauds in which the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir Lawal is involved, has asked the Senate which originally indicted Mr. Lawal, for evidence, according to correspondence seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

The committee, chaired by the Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo wrote Shehu Sani, the senator heading the Senate ad-hoc committee on mounting humanitarian crisis in the north east.

Mr. Sani’s committee blew the lid of alleged procurement fraud at the Presidential Initiative for the North East, PINE.

In the letter dated April 21 and signed by Mr. Osinbajo’s Chief of Staff, Ade Ipaye, the presidential committee asked for evidence against Mr. Lawal, who is at the centre of the allegations.

The presidential committee asked for “relevant documentation, including the report of your committee’s deliberations on the same subject for appropriate consideration by the presidential committee.”

Mr. Sani on Wednesday confirmed that his committee received the letter.

“I confirm that we got the letter and we will provide the documents to the committee,” he told journalists.

The other two members of the presidential committee are the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno; and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

Senate Re-Invites SGF Lawal

In a related development, Mr. Sani’s committee has re-invited the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, to its hearing slated for tomorrow, Thursday, PREMIUM TIMES can confirm.

The correspondence, a ‘re-invitation’ letter dated April 26, 2017, was signed by the clerk to the committee, Lawal Bungudu.

Mr. Lawal is expected to answer questions over allegations of breach of law and due process in how contracts were awarded by t PINE, an intervention agency under the office of the SGF.

The Senate probe committee had invited Mr. Lawal to appear before it ‘for the second time’ on March 15, 2017. But then, he declined appearance, first, citing a pending litigation before requesting postponement afterwards.

“The committee has granted your request conveyed in your letter dated March 22, 2017 and re-scheduled the meeting,” reads the letter.

“By this letter, I am directed to formally invite you to appear before the committee on Thursday, April 27, 2017.”

Senate sources, however, told PREMIUM TIMES that the embattled SGF may not appear before the committee as his aides refused to accept the invitation letter on Wednesday.

Last December, the Senate committee under Mr. Sani had indicted Mr. Lawal, in its interim report, for retaining directorship of a company, Rholavision, while being the SGF and using same company, originally registered for ICT services in 1990, to receive ‘grass-cutting’ consultancy contract from PINE, an agency under his supervision, all in breach of Nigeria’s code of conduct for public officials.

The Senate then adopted the report of its committee and resolved to demand President Muhammadu Buhari suspend and prosecute Mr. Lawal.

But the President wrote back, rejecting the call for action against Mr. Lawal. He said, in January, that the Senate did not extend principle of fair hearing to the SGF and that the damning report itself was a ‘minority report’.

However, Mr. Buhari last week announced the suspension of Mr. Lawal over the allegations made by the Senate, and constituted the Osinbajo committee to probe Mr. Lawal.

Mr. Buhari constituted the committee on April 19, same day Mr. Lawal was suspended alongside the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke, and gave it two weeks to accomplish its task.